Keeping the American dream alive

In the United States, owning your own home is part of the American dream. But for many, the dream has become a nightmare. Every month, tens of thousands of homeowners are losing their houses to foreclosure. But people are fighting back. Our reporters went to Florida, the state that has been most severely affected, where one group of people helps these victims of the crisis to hold on to the American dream.

Fourteen million Americans without a job, six and a half million foreclosures, and forty million people on food stamps. The figures detailing the economic crisis in the United States give one pause. We decided to meet the people behind these statistics.

We discovered families who fight for months - sometimes even years – to avoid defaulting on their mortgages. This means no more evenings or dinners out, of course, but also no more money to spend on university studies or sometimes on healthcare, even in the case of a serious illness.

Saving a family home is about much more than just keeping one’s name on the title deed. Keeping an address means providing normal living conditions for one's children and having a chance to find a new job.